Nehuén Pérez of Udinese has been called up to the Argentina national team.

Pérez has been selected for the Argentina national team as coach Lionel Scaloni could be short on defenders for the first match. As we reported on Monday, Germán Pezzella is suspended for the first match against Chile.

Lucas Martínez Quarta is also just recovering from COVID and with no Cristian Romero in the team, Scaloni is likely to star both Nicolas Otamendi and Lisandro Martinez. Here is the updated Argentina list:

Goalkeepers:
Franco Armani (River Plate)
Esteban Andrada (Monterrey)
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Juan Musso (Atalanta)

Defenders:
Nahuel Molina (Udinese)
Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla)
Lucas Martinez Quarta (Fiorentina)
German Pezzella (Real Betis)
Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica)
Lisandro Martinez (Ajax)
Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax)
Marcos Acuna (Sevilla)
Nehuén Pérez (Udinese)

Midfielders:
Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina)
Lucas Ocampos (Sevilla)
Leandro Paredes (PSG)
Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis) (COVID, injured)
Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid)
Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur)
Alejandro Gomez (Sevilla)
Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton)
Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa)

Forwards:
Angel Di Maria (PSG)
Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid)
Julian Alvarez (River Plate)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter)
Joaquin Correa (Inter) (injured)
Paulo Dybala (Juventus)
Maxi Meza (Monterrey)

#SelecciónMayor El defensor de @Udinese_1896, Nehuén Pérez, se suma a la convocatoria para los partidos contra @LaRoja 🇨🇱 y @FCFSeleccionCol 🇨🇴. pic.twitter.com/bFsrdzLErN

— Selección Argentina 🇦🇷 (@Argentina) January 25, 2022

Emiliano Martinez spoke about the Argentina national team and the two World Cup qualifying matches.

Martinez has become the undisputed starter for the Argentina national team. A hero at the Copa America, the 29 year old spoke to the official Argentina Twitter account, regarding the team. Here is what he had to say:

“We are still hungry. We come here to continue winning, to continue to unite as a team and as a group. Today, the coach told us that what we did passed, that this is a World Cup year and that we have to do our best to be on that list. So no one comes here to relax.”

“We are going to play every match as if it were the last. We have to be the best version of ourselves if we want to reach the objective and that starts tomorrow.”

The Argentine also spoke about the match against Chile:

“A brave match. We already lived it in the World Cup qualifiers and the Copa America, they were two 1-1 results, a tight match. Especially at altitude, we don’t know how the pitch is going to be but we’ll see what we’ll find. If we give it our best, we have a chance to win the game.”

Regarding the match against Colombia:

“We lived it at the Copa America, a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes. They are very brave. They have players that are at a great level, just like us. But we are going to play at home, in Cordoba, we want to bring joy to the fans.”

He also spoke about the fans:

“We are proud. We lived it in San Juan, the craziness of the fans, how the match was lived. It was a unique experience for me, I had never played there and I want to do the same in Cordoba. Having the possibility of the fans being able to watch the Argentina national team is something unique for them and for us too.”

Guido Rodriguez has tested positive for COVID and will miss Argentina’s World Cup qualifying matches.

Rodriguez will miss the World Cup qualifying matches against Chile and Colombia. According to Gastón Edul, should Lionel Scaloni decide to call up a replacement, it would have to be someone from the local league.

Lisandro Martinez could start for Argentina in their World Cup qualifier.

Martinez appears to be one of the favorites to start alongside Nicolas Otamendi for Argentina. With no Cristian Romero as he will remain with Tottenham Hotspur, Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni will have to select another defender.

Germán Pezzella of Real Betis is suspended. He received two yellow cards during the qualifiers and would not be available to play against Chile. Lucas Martínez Quarta is also just recovering from COVID as he has missed Fiorentina’s recent matches.

Argentina play Chile on Thursday, January 27 away with a second match against Colombia on February 1 at home.